Til the Edge of Doom
by sbenton1
Summary: A one-shot prelude to my other story "Just Us".


**This was originally intended as a one shot to expand on the ending of episode 9 (Good Luck with Your Death). Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in writing "Just Us" that I forgot to finish it. I'm posting it now ahead of the next two chapters of "Just Us" as a prelude of sorts. **

**As always, the characters are owned by NBC and Liz Heldens. **

**Enjoy!**

He sat at the dinner table in disbelief, barely able to finish his meal. She spoke the words he has been waiting to hear since she walked back into his life almost two months ago. He kept replaying the scene over and over in his head. He's forgotten that he is sitting next to Audrey – the latest _"girlfriend"_ he has acquired to occupy himself with. He can't help but glance her way ever so often and wonder what she was thinking and what else she would have said before Audrey summoned him to leave the second time.

She sat next to her mother making small talk and trying desperately to not look his way. She was hurting inside and couldn't wait to finish her meal and runoff to her room. She had finally been honest with him after weeks of hiding and fighting her feelings but he turned and walked away with another woman. She was trying to wait until it was all over. The investigation. The lying. The deception. When it was all over she planned to stay and try to be with him no matter what it would take. After seventeen years of being apart, she wouldn't have the strength to leave him again but now she has no choice. He's moved on with Audrey and Will wants her out of town as soon as the case is solved now that he has narrowed it down to Audrey as the possible killer. But the reality is Julian may hate her when he finds out that she knew about Audrey all along and she'll lose the love of her life – again.

Audrey leans over and nudges Julian and speaks softly into his ear. "Hey, what's going on with you? It's like you're on another planet right now."

He shakes his head as if it would clear his thoughts of Joanna. "I'm just deep in thought right now. Some work stuff came to mind."

"Anything I can help you with?" she whispered as she rested her hand on his thigh.

"No it's just some things I need to do in the morning." He explained _(lied)_.

She continued to rub his thigh and then turned her head in Joanna's direction. She wanted to make sure that Joanna sees her comforting her man. She's no dummy. She knows that he and Joanna had a somewhat tense conversation in the drawing room so she's making it clear that Joanna holds no cards here. Julian is hers.

At last Robert and Sophia stood up to give the final toast of the evening. They thanked everyone for joining their anniversary celebration and closed the evening with their favorite song.

Joanna helps her mother up from the table and they bid everyone goodnight. They go upstairs and she waits as her mother gets ready for bed. Beverly had a slight episode earlier in the day which caused a little dizziness and forgetfulness so she didn't want to leave her until she knew she was asleep. As they sat across from each other on the bed, her mom looked at her with concern.

"You still love him don't you?" Beverly said as she looked at Joanna sideways.

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"He's gonna hurt you Jo. Don't you remember all of those girls he had? You and him being together was a fantasy and you played right along with him. He will hurt you like he did all of the others. He doesn't even care about that one he was with tonight. He uses girls and throws them away. Don't go back to being one of those girls Jo."

Joanna fights back the tears as she looks at her mother. Ever since the day she caught her and Julian in bed she never forgave him nor did she try to hear Joanna's side of the story. Instead they ran away to the other side of the country to put as much distance between them and the Bowers as possible. Beverly has always concluded that Julian manipulated Joanna and took her innocence. She didn't care that Joanna spent months crying her eyes out over Julian. Instead she just viewed it as Joanna fell in love with a snake who was just like his father.

"Mom there's lot of things that you never let me explain back then and it makes no difference now but to answer your question; yes. I am still in love with him but he has someone else so it doesn't matter. But please do me favor. Stop thinking that he used or manipulated me when I was younger. We knew what we were doing back then and it was mutual."

Beverly was taken aback by Joanna's tone but she was quick with a response.

"Honey the men in this family don't love anybody. Remember that. Be careful Joanna."

She knows her mom has her reasons for saying and feeling the way that she does about Robert and the family but she has never shared them with her. She thinks it has a lot to do with her dad and the way he died but Beverly refuses to discuss it anytime she brings it up. Joanna has learned through the years to just let everything be and maybe in time her mother will open up about it.

"Good night mom." She kisses her mother on the forehead and turns to leave. She passes five bedrooms one of which is Mia's on the way to her own. She contemplates stopping to check in on her but she could hear her on the phone possibly talking to Kyle so she continues on to her room. As she reaches her door, she pauses and looks down the hall to her left. Julian's old bedroom is three doors down but she figures he has left by now. He and Audrey arrived in her car so Joanna knows they had no intention of staying over for the night which she gave her some relief after seeing them together. She couldn't bare the thought of him sleeping so close but with another woman.

She slowly steps into her room, turns on the light and closes the door behind her. She wanted to fall right into bed but she had to remove her makeup first. She walks over to her dressing table and sits down. She stares at herself in the mirror and suddenly she regrets all that she said to Julian earlier. She felt foolish for waiting so long and asks herself why she agreed to take this case in first place knowing all along how she felt about everything. If Vivian where here she probably would give her the "I told you so" speech but Vivian _is_ the reason she's here and she wants justice for her but the price of it is way more than what she anticipated.

Julian and Audrey walk outside and the valet goes to retrieve Audrey's car. Julian is fidgeting as he feels backed into a corner. He doesn't want to leave with her and quickly comes up with an excuse to stay behind.

"Hey, I need to see my dad first thing in the morning before we get to the office. So I think I better stay here tonight. He and I can ride in together and get some things done early for the drug launch." Julian said as he backed away a little from Audrey to create some distance between them.

"Wait, you're not coming home with me? Do you even have clothes here?" Audrey said as she felt blindsided by his decision.

"Yeah I have plenty of clothes here. I used to live here you know. I just need to speak with dad in the morning or maybe tonight if he hasn't gone to bed yet. That's why I was so preoccupied earlier."

"So this has nothing to do with whatever you and Joanna were talking about?"

"No. Look I told you already. There is nothing going on between us. She's been in our family since we were all kids so we're gonna have conversations. Get used to it." Julian said, slightly agitated.

Audrey doubts that he is telling her the truth but she knows that she can't force him in the car. They've only been dating for a few weeks but she has had a crush on him for years and she doesn't want to lose him so she relents.

"You're right. I guess I'm just a little jealous because I don't trust her." Audrey says a she walks closer to Julian to close the gap between them.

Julian takes a step back. He's not sure if he's offended or annoyed with what she just said.

"What do you mean you don't trust her? You don't even know her." He stops short of yelling at her and catches himself.

Audrey looks back at him in dismay.

"I'm just saying. She might have a thing for you and it's not sitting well with me."

Julian looks up as the valet approaches with her car.

"Okay this conversation ends now. I'll call you tomorrow." he says as he opens her car door.

Audrey reluctantly walks in front of him to get in. She pauses and reaches up to pull him closer for a kiss but he tilts his head the other way and pecks her on the cheek instead.

She tries her best to hide her anger as she gets in and he closes the door. She fastens her seat belt a waves goodbye and she reaches the mansion gates to exit, she stops and pounds her fist on her steering wheel.

"That bitch!" she exclaimed as sped off.

A tear rolls down her cheek as she thinks about his real reason for staying. She knew that getting involved with Julian was risky but it was business at first. Her plan was payback for sleeping with her and then dumping her the next day four years ago when she worked at Bowers Pharmaceuticals. But deep in her heart she had feelings for him before that night and she thought maybe he was being for real this time and he would fall in love with her and forgive her once Lyritrol was sabotaged by her company. But now she feels he was playing her just as she was playing him.

Julian quickly put what just happened out of his head. He was never really into Audrey but she was the one he turned to when Joanna pushed him away the last time. He didn't really trust her. Wasn't in love with her. She was just there filling a hole within him that he couldn't fill on his own until now. Joanna finally admitted how she really felt and he was eager to requite those feelings.

He hastened his steps up the grand staircase and down the hall and when he arrived at Joanna's door, he hesitated before knocking. He looked down to the crease of the door to see if her light was still on. He could see the beam coming through the crack and with that confirmation, he leaned against the door frame and rendered their secret knock.

Joanna thought she was hearing things. When she heard the secret knock again she felt butterflies in stomach but also thought why was he still here? Is Audrey waiting downstairs? She got up, straightened her dress and walked over to the door. When she opened it she saw Julian leaning against the door frame and for few seconds, they were lost for words.

And then he inhaled deeply and spoke.

"Okay. I'm in. Til the edge of doom."

He took her completely by surprise as he rushed toward her and grabbed her by her waist.

The sailed backwards to her bed and he fell on top of her. They were kissing frantically as if they were breathing life into each other.

She ran her fingers through his hair and his hands touched every part of her body that he has been longing feel. After weeks of fighting and hiding their emotions, they were now in uncontrollable bliss.

She broke their kisses to remind him to close and lock the door. It was a mistake they made long ago and she did not want to repeat it.

He got up and walked over to close the door and turn the lock. He shed his jacket on the way back to her and as it fell to the floor, he extended his hand for her to stand up. He bent down slightly and buried his tongue in her mouth while hands went to work on her zipper. Her dress fell to the floor and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He picked her up and laid her back on the bed and moved in closer to her as she unbuttoned his shirt. He planted kisses on her neck, her shoulders and her breast as he freed them from her bra. She ran her hands up and down his chest and then removed his shirt entirely and he threw on the floor. As he leaned closer to her, she took hold of his belt buckle, their eyes locked and they took a beat.

He was looking at her they way he did that morning at the train station and the night she dropped Mia off at his place. He wanted her and much more so he firmly spoke the words of his heart.

"I don't want to do this if it's only for tonight. We both can go other places for sex but I don't want that. I. Want you. Tonight and every night hereafter. And like I asked you a few weeks ago, that guy you're seeing – lose him. But if that's not possible, tell me to go now and I will but this time it will be for good."

Joanna's eyes grew wide as she was both shocked and surprised by what he just said. She's never seen him this serious before as his eyes pierced through her.

"But what about you and …." He placed his fingers over lips before she could say Audrey's name. For him, that ended twenty minutes ago.

"That's over. I didn't want that Joanna. I want you. I want us. No more games and pretending and no more losing time between us. I've loved you since we were teenagers and even though we've been apart for so long, my love for you has not changed only the days and years that separated us. If you don't want this, tell me now and I'll go."

In his eyes Joanna saw the boy who is now a man that she fell in love with long ago. She knew that the road ahead was not going be easier but it was worth the risk because she still loved him too.

"Julian, I want this more than anything. I want us too."

He leaned into her but this time he kissed her slowly. She unbuckled his belt and he worked his way out of his pants and kicked them to the floor with rest of their clothing. He worked his way down to her panties and carefully removed them while taking in the beauty of her body and planting kisses everywhere he could on the way down to her feet. He removed his underwear and worked his back up to her mouth and as he entered her, she let out the sexiest moan he has ever heard and it served as his motivation to give her more pleasure than she expected.

Joanna was pleased with the way Julian has grown into manhood in every which way. His body felt strong yet he trembled at her touch as she caressed his back. His skin was smooth but the friction of their movement caused the heat to rise between them. His kisses were deep and passionate but also slow, deliberate and well placed on other parts of her body. And to her delight, he remembered the one place where she was the most vulnerable; her neck. She melted as he ran his tongue up and down her neck stopping intermittently to suck or lightly bite certain spots. She returned the favor by attacking his ears especially the left one. He could never resist her whenever she let her tongue do the talking in his ear but the left one drove him crazy and she used it to her advantage every time.

They rode the waves of their emotions as the minutes ticked away and in no time, their every movement and breath they took were in sync. They clung to each other during their moment of release as if they were free falling into a pool of ecstasy.

When they were done, they didn't want to let each other go. They laid in each others arms drunk with passion and high on love. For Julian, this was the first time since they were together last that he actually took his time and made love to a woman. He's never given this side of himself to anyone except Joanna. Everything else has just been sex. Nothing more. Nothing less.

He lifted his head to look at her. They smiled at each other and slowly untangled themselves from their embrace. Julian laid on his side facing her as she caressed his cheek. His eyes were closed but he took her hand and kissed it and clasped it into his. They drifted off to sleep facing each other as if they were keeping watch through the night.

Joanna felt a chill a few hours later and she woke to realize that they didn't to cover themselves with the sheets. She reached down to pull the sheets over their bodies and she made sure Julian was fully covered. Settling into the covers she then felt the urge to use the bathroom so she quietly slipped out of the bed. She felt chilly again so she picked up Julian's shirt and put it on for her short walk to the bathroom. A few minutes later, there was a light tap on the door.

"Are you okay?" she heard Julian ask from the other side of the door.

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a second." She replied.

When she opened the door, she saw him standing there naked and she smiled and shook her head.

"Did you think I bailed on you?" she said jokingly.

"Something like that. But then I thought, she'd be crazy to leave all of this." He said as he outlined his nakedness.

They both laughed as Joanna reached up and turned off the bathroom light. The room was illuminated by the moonlight and Joanna looked over at the full moon peaking through the curtain. Julian took her hand to lead her back to the bed but she backed up against the wall instead.

"You're going to have to help me out of this shirt. The buttons seem to be stuck." She said like a damsel in distress.

"Who told you to put it on?" Julian said as he pulled her closer by the collar of his shirt.

He took it off of her and lifted her up into his arms and she wrapped her legs around him. They were ready for round two but this time they didn't make it to the bed. They ran through of number of positions as if they couldn't get enough of each other going from one end of the room to the other. They finally collapsed on the floor and pulled the bed sheets and pillows down with them. They were tired and only had a few precious hours to actually sleep before work in the morning.

A few short hours later, it was the buzzing that startled her. She woke up and remembered that she was on the floor and Julian was sleeping peacefully next to her. Then the buzzing started again. It was his phone buzzing from inside his pant pocket. She shook him gently and his eyes opened and stared back at her.

"Your phone keeps buzzing." she said in her sleepy voice.

"Where is it?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

She reached over and grabbed his pants and handed the phone to him. He blinked his eyes as he looked at the screen at first thinking it was Audrey calling him. Instead it was two text messages from Edward asking him to call him as soon as possible. It was 8:40am which means they would both be late for work. Joanna was laying on her stomach trying to steal a few more minutes of sleep. Julian rolled over and began kissing her from the small of her back to nape of her neck and then he leaned over and started kissing her lips. And then his phone buzzed again but this time Joanna held on to his lips to try to lock him in place. He picked up his phone and checked the screen.

"It's Edward. He keeps texting me. I better see what he wants."

He started kissing her again in between his next words.

"But. I promise. This. To you. Again. Tonight."

Joanna smiled and replied, "And I'm gonna hold you to that."

He kissed her one last time and then got up with his phone in hand and went into the bathroom. She heard him as he starting talking to his brother but her phone rang as well.

It was Nicole with a scoop no doubt.

"I swear to God Nicole you five seconds to say what you have to say."

She listened as Nicole gave her an update on some more information she uncovered about Audrey's involvement in Vivian's murder. She agreed to meet with her on the way to work and hung up the phone. She heard Julian turn on the shower so she got up and used the secret knock on the bathroom door. She figured she'll brush her teeth while he showered but when he opened the door, naked, that idea went out the window as he playfully pulled her in and into the shower with him.

Needless to say, they were late for everything that morning.


End file.
